Airplane luggage

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This posting is from: Brenda Scarf
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Hi girls.... my first time flying with my female things.... I'd love
some suggestions on three particular items for checked
baggage.... silicone breastforms.... costume jewelry.... aerosol
cans....

has anyone ever had any problems with these things in checked
baggage.... if they are flags (or reason for 5 finger Harry ) for
security to open checked baggage I'd just assume carry them onboard with
me however I prefer to check them.... I don't believe you can bring an
aerosol can onboard with you (I'm bringing one small one with me
)....any help is appreciated....

thanks from Brenda

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This posting is from: annie
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> Hi girls.... my first time flying with my female things.... I'd love
> some suggestions on three particular items for checked
> baggage....

I fly regularly for business, and for pleasure. I'll give you my
opinions, which in summary is that most inspections these days, while
more thorough than before, are less intrusive than they were in the
weeks/months following 9-11.

For checked luggage all major airports have some kind of a screening
station near the airline check-in desks. Some of these are a conveyor
x-ray thing, some are a desk with a hand-operated gizmo.

Very seldom anymore do I find that they actually open the bag and
rummage thru the contents.

I did, however, arrive at my hotel one time recently and found a
"inspected by no. 12" note in one of my bags, so I know it does
occasionally happen.

Inspection occurs right before, during, or immediately after check-in at
the airline desk. In some airports, the inspection occurs in the queue
in front of the airline desk, in others they have you take your luggage
to the inspection station after check-in, in others they carry your
luggage to the inspection station while you are checking in. In some
others you go to the x-ray station before going to the check-in desk.

Remember, these people are there to prevent people from taking various
kinds of nasty stuff on board. They really don't care what's in the
bags, as long as they are not prohibited items.

Either right after 9-11 or recently, I'm unaware of any majorly
embarrassing incidents. "Hey, these belong to you, Mac?"

>silicone breastforms....

Let me find and repost a note from one of our people regarding an amusing
anecdote on this. :)

Commercial forms should not raise any red flags. When 9-11 happened, for
a while I was suggesting that people not carry the "boob goo" type forms
on planes, since they may not be obvious what they are, and unknown
items containing a gooey substance could raise red flags.

>costume jewelry....

These are radiopaque and most screeners see this all the time. No
problem. Again, mentioned in the note I'll repost shortly.

>aerosol cans....

They tell me (the ubiquitous "they") that any pressurized or flammable
liquids are a no-no in general, but that there is an exception for small
amounts of personal toiletry items.

>if they are flags (or reason for 5 finger Harry ) for security to open
>checked baggage

Obvious red flags are one-way tickets, paying cash for a ticket, walking
up to the desk cold without a reservation, etc.

> I don't believe you can bring an aerosol can onboard with you

I would check things like this. Phone the airline if there's any reason
you think you need to carry that on.

Inspection of carry-on bags is very quick, and at most airports I don't
think the people on the x-ray really know which bag belongs to whom.
They run the bags (and shoes and belts and coats) thru the machine while
the bodies walk thru the magnetometer.

There are still some random checks while boarding. I saw one person get
pulled aside for this just a couple weeks ago.

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This posting is from: annie
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This is a repost of an item that appeared in a general DLV mailing back
in February of 2002. Although this is dated, and the security procedures
have changed, it does give a first-hand account of somebody who was
singled out multiple times for a close inspection. As I've said, I've
found the current procedures to be far less intrusive than the ones
described here.

Remember, this is the way it was 2+ years ago.
. . . . .

Airport security:

Cat seems to have the best of luck (NOT) when it comes to being singled
out for inspections. I asked her to please write it up, as it's amusing
and could help ease the anxiety of those planning to fly to DLV.

Cat writes:

>I am sitting here watching the sun come up in New Orleans and found
>this a perfect time to write you about the travel fun I had in Omaha
>and Orlando. Use what you want or rewrite as you need to. Hope this
>helps alleviate some fears for those flying to DLV.

>For the Christmas holidays in 2000 I flew from Omaha to Orlando, then
>to Houston and finally back to Omaha. At Omaha and Orlando I was the
>receipient of the award for being the "random traveler". At both
>locations my checked baggaged was searched completely (emptied onto a
>table), my carryon was searched at the security checkpoints and my
>carryon as well as myself was searched prior to boarding the plane.

>Each time turned out to be a great experience! I am not a person who
>is very shy, and I tend to talk to most anyone. I have found that most
>people doing the security searches don't care what is in the bag,
>unless it is a weapon of some sort. And, if you talk with them, they
>enjoy the break from a very mundane and thankless job. If you are
>honest about what you are carrying, some great fun can be had.

>In Omaha, I had the first flight of the day out...with eveyone else
>flying that day. The baggage search area has a screen around it for
>the inside, but is viewable by anyone on the outside. There are
>usually 2-3 searches going on at one time. I had two ladies performing
>the search on my bags. One of the first things they encountered was my
>wig head. The question to me was "Where is the rest of the body?". I
>replied "It is travelling incognito". About that time the second lady
>located and opened the breast forms and with a big smile displayed them
>and said "Here she is!"

>The rest of the search was held in much the same atmosphere. All my
>gowns and shoes were discussed and even some of the makeup. (I think
>there may be a convert to MAC). The other "random" people were
>enjoying the fun as much as the security and I were too. What some
>people would think of as a stressful situation was actually one that
>left smiles on alot of people's faces. (I have a smile right now just
>thinking about it!). When I passed through security, my carryons were
>searched and when I was asked about my jewelry and some of the makeup,
>I simply said they were mine and I wore them...which brought a smile to
>the young man's face and a shortened search to my bags. Just before
>boarding, two others and myself were "requested" by name to be searched
>again. This time as the older male security agent was opening my bags,
>I asked if I could get a piece of my jewelry out when he got to it.
>The search was conducted where any passenger could see it and one of
>the ladies made a nice comment when she came onto the plane and passed
>by my seat about how she loved the ring I had chosen. Note: A side
>benefit to this search was I got to get on the plane first so I had my
>pick of seats on the Southwest flight.

>Leaving Orlando, I was priveledged to have a BIG security guard handle
>the search of my checked baggage. He chose to open the storage bag
>with my wigs first. Out came my strawberry blonde. His expression of
>surprise quickly turned to a smile as I said that my friends thought
>that was my best color! This search went fairly quickly after that.
>We did discuss a couple of my heels and where I had gotten them.

>Though there are partitions shielding the search from most customers,
>anyone near the front of the ticket line and the counter personnel can
>see everything going on. Again, there were some nice smiles on several
>faces. At the security checkpoint, my carryons were gone through
>without any questions. Once the makeup was seen, things actually went
>faster than alot of the others bags.

>As in Omaha, I was selected to be searched just before boarding. This
>time my toe nails were done and I did not have socks or hose on. The
>young lady who passed the wane under my feet commented that she liked
>the color and asked where I had them done. My bag and briefcase was
>gone through very quickly and again, I was the first on the plane.

>An addendum to my searches occurred leaving Atlanta in January.
>Passing through security my bags were picked to be searched. The first
>thing pulled out was my makeup bag. When the mid 40s security agent
>opened it up, he made a comment about being "great makeup" and my
>search ended with just a quick feeling of the rest of the contents in
>the bag.

>The bottom line to me on traveling by air and being searched is...be
>honest and have some fun. Keep a smile on your face and most of the
>time you will not only get through without alot of stress, but you will
>brighten up someone's day.

Thanks, Cat. I hope people will realize that if they should be singled
out for inspection, they will be nothing new to the inspectors. They
have seen it all before, many times over.

If I may add a few comments ...

So far (knocking on wood) I haven't been singled out for inspection of
checked items, but I was searched at the security checkpoint once when
the x-ray operator noticed a hemostat and a pair of pliers in my carry
on bag. They pulled me aside and rooted thru the bag, but only really
cared about the tools. They had to call in a supervisor to ok the
pliers, but other than that it was no hassle. Since then I have packed
any tools in the check-in bags.

From my observation, the privacy of the search seems to vary from
airline to airline, from airport to airport, and somewhat by the phase
of the moon. In Omaha, it looks like both American and Southwest have
partitions up around their areas, making them somewhat discreet. On
Midwest Express, they do it on a table to the side of the ticket
counter.

When I took the flight to Atlanta, I phoned Midwest to ask when I REALLY
should be there, and they said 4:45am at the latest for a 6:15am flight.
I got there at 4:30 and the line was snaked around almost out to the
door. They had one person doing inspections, and it appeared that when
she was done with one person, they randomly sent another over to her.
This was right out in the open, but it appeared nobody was paying
attention. Passengers were more concerned with getting their morning
refreshments and finding directions to the gates and such.

I didn't really check out the other airlines in Omaha, since Southwest
is at the extreme north end of the complex and ME and American are at
the extreme opposite end of the concourse.

In Atlanta, again Midwest Express, there was not a visible search area
anywhere by the ticket counter. The line was short (5 or so, a great
advantage of flying ME instead of Delta out of Atlanta). Nobody on line
at the time was searched.

In Las Vegas (Southwest) they had a few open tables in the area by the
ticket counter with two, maybe three people doing inspections. The line
was several hundred people deep at the time (Southwest is LV's largest
carrier) and seemingly at random people were sent back there. There was
some speculation by the people waiting as to how those were selected.
One person commented that one-way tickets, paying in cash, or showing up
cold with no reservation would guarantee you a trip to the back tables.

As far as airport delays at the checkpoints, I've seen about 15 minutes
max in Omaha, about 20 minutes max in Las Vegas, but in Atlanta they
were backed up all the way to the rotunda by the food court. Took 47 (I
timed it) minutes to clear the checkpoint in Atlanta and it looked like
they were hand-searching very few.

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This posting is from: annie
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If you're a bit shy of having checked bags or carry-ons inspected, you
can ship stuff in advance.

Most hotels will receive packages for guests and hold them for arrival.
There is often a charge for this service. If you're interested, contact
your hotel directly.

One of the local merchants has offered to receive packages for DLV
attendees. If you're interested, e-mail dlv@geekbabe.com for details.

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This posting is from: Tootsye
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Brenda,

Why don't You just wear them and they you don't have to worry about
them?

I didn't take any boy clothes when I flew, sos thare was not a problem!

Hugs
Tootsye

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This posting is from: JoAnn
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Brenda--

I have a separate suitcase [enfemne] and check it in at the Airline
Counter.... I don't worry... then I pick it up at baggage claim.

Sometimes I see a TSA tag in the baggage saying they checked it--- but
who cares... I almost do this weekly and no problems. JoAnn

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This posting is from: Mary Beth
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>my first time flying with my female things.... I'd love some
>suggestions on three particular items for checked baggage.... silicone
>breastforms.... costume jewelry.... aerosol cans....

If the aerosol can is hairspray, you'd be better off getting a small
pump bottle instead.

Breast forms - if they are silicon, you *probably* won't have a problem
(although I'm still a bit afraid that they will burst due to the change
in pressure. If I'm travelling domestically, I always ship my silicone
ahead via UPS ground). I have a pair of small hard rubber forms (I
call them my "travel tits") which have caused my luggage to be searched.
I came to the conclusion that they must "read" as the same consistency
as plastic explosives by the X-Ray machines. I only use those for
international travel, since the silicone forms take up too much space
in the luggage.

Costume jewelry shouldn't cause any problems at all.

Mary Beth

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This posting is from: annie
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> Breast forms - if they are silicon, you *probably* won't have a problem
> (although I'm still a bit afraid that they will burst due to the change
> in pressure. If I'm travelling domestically, I always ship my silicone

I can assure you first hand that both commercial silicone forms and
forms made of latex and "boob goo" will not rupture on an airliner,
either when worn in the cabin, or in a cargo hold.

Breast form fillers, such as silicone gel and the boob goo elastomer
have negligible expansion even at 40,000 feet.

Yes, forms containing air or another gas, and the earlier vintage
inflatable bras can and will expand either in the cabin or the cargo
hold. Airliner cabins tend to be pressurized to the equivalent of about
10,000 feet.

#include <review.of.boyles.law.h>

This (exploding/expanding breasts on airliners) has been the subject of
many legends. Look at snopes.com or urbanlegends.com and I'm sure
you'll find some citations.

One of the people on IRC just stated that the legend of the exploding
breast form was debunked on Mythbusters last year. I did not see that
one personally.

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This posting is from: Brenda Scarf
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Thanks ladies for the info.....looking forward to meeting you
all....Brenda

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This posting is from: Hollye
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Not to worry... I learned the hard way, just have a good excuse, like "My
girlfriend is meeting me here" LOL (Annie knows what I mean)

Have a great time everyone!!

Hugs;

Margeth

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